Men's Lacrosse Ranked No. 1 in All Four Major Preseason Polls
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s lacrosse team is ranked No. 1 in all four of the major preseason polls, entering the 2012 season. The USILA coaches and Nike/Inside Lacrosse media polls were released today. The Face-Off Yearbook and Lacrosse Magazine preseason polls were previously released this winter.
The USILA coaches and Nike/Inside Lacrosse media polls will conduct a weekly poll through the season.
Head coach Dom Starsia’s squad features 30 returning lettermen, including seven starters, from last year’s NCAA title team. The Cavaliers went 13-5 and became the lowest seed (No. 7) and first five-loss team to win the NCAA title. UVa has advanced to the national semifinals in four consecutive seasons, but 2011 was the first finals for the Cavaliers since taking home the hardware in 2006.
UVa opens its season on Feb. 18 at Drexel. Faceoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
A composite grid of the preseason rankings is below. Virginia’s 2012 opponents are in bold.
| Face-Off Year Book | Nike/Inside Lacrosse | USILA | Lacrosse Magazine | Avg. Rank | ||
| 1. | Virginia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 |
| 2. | Duke | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2.25 |
| 3. | Johns Hopkins |
4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.00 |
| 4. | Cornell | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3.50 |
| 5. | Denver | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5.00 |
| 6. | North Carolina |
6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6.00 |
| 7. | Syracuse |
7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7.50 |
| |
Maryland | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7.50 |
| 9. | Notre Dame | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9.00 |
| 10. | Villanova | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10.00 |
| 11. | UMass |
12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12.00 |
| 12. | Hofstra | 11 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 13.75 |
| 13. | Bucknell | 15 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 14.25 |
| 14. | Harvard | 19 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 14.50 |
| 15. | Penn | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15.00 |
| 16. | Yale | 13 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16.25 |
| 17. | Princeton | 16 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 16.50 |
| 18. | Penn State | 20 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 17.25 |
| 19. | Drexel | 17 | 20 | 20 | NR | 19.50 |
| 20. | Colgate | 18 | 19 | NR | NR | 19.75 |